Where Maui turns a cold shoulder

LAHAINA, Hawaii – Granted, Maui is known best for its sunshine, warm winds and seemingly endless expanses of blue water.

But there is another side to this Pacific island that is much more desolate, barren and remote than most can imagine. And that’s the side Gonzaga fans Mike and Carol Schimmels decided to explore earlier this week as part of their Hawaiian getaway to watch the Bulldogs play in the EA Sports Maui Invitational men’s basketball tournament.

Mike, who owns Red Diamond Construction in Spokane, and Carol took their daughter and son-in-law, Shelly and Rod Hess, and their 6 1/2 -month-old grandson, Dylan, to East Maui to see the lava fields and crater of Haleakala, a now-dormant volcano.

The five drove 22 miles up the western slopes of the volcano, past the lava fields to peer into the crater, which is often hidden by clouds.

“It’s beautiful up there,” Mike Schimmels said, “but it’s also cold. It’s 10,023 feet high and by the time we got up there, I’ll bet the temperature (which was in the mid-80s on the west side of the island) had dropped 20 degrees.”

The travel party, according to Shelly, wasn’t as prepared as it could have been.

“We didn’t take any sweatshirts along,” she explained, “so we ended up wrapping the baby in beach towels.”

But things warmed up for the family Monday, when they returned to the softer side of the island to watch eighth-ranked Gonzaga open play in the Maui Invitational with an impressive 88-76 win over 23rd-ranked Maryland.

Steve Bergum